Featured Issue: U.S. Immigration Courts under Trump 2.0
The U.S. immigration court system plays a critical role in upholding due process and ensuring fair hearings for individuals facing deportation. However, since January 20, 2025, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has implemented significant changes that challenge the structural integrity of these courts. This page aims to provide up-to-date information on the policy and legal shifts affecting the U.S. immigration court system.
Latest Updates
Updates from EOIR
Browse the Featured Issue: U.S. Immigration Courts under Trump 2.0 collection
USCIS Update on DACA Renewal Requests
USCIS posted an update on its website stating that its current goal is to process DACA renewal requests within 120 days, and that DACA applicants whose renewal requests have been pending for more than 105 days may contact USCIS.
CA1 Finds Appellant’s False Health Care Claim Caused More Than $10,000 in Losses
Applying the circumstance-specific approach of Nijhawan v. Holder, the court affirmed USCIS’s determination that appellant’s false health care claim caused more than $10,000 in losses, and thus upheld the denial of appellant’s naturalization application. (Nanje v. Chaves, 9/9/16)
CRS Report on Immigration Legislation and Issues in the 114th Congress
A Congressional Research Service report examines immigration-related issues that have received legislative action or are of significant congressional interest in the 114th Congress.
DHS Updates 8 CFR to Correct Outdated References
DHS final rule amending 8 CFR to update various outdated references, including provisions listing specific immigration officials authorized to perform various functions that did not reflect the current DHS structure. (81 FR 62353, 9/9/16)
BIA Clarifies Prior Decision in Matter of Guzman-Polanco
The BIA held that controlling circuit court law should be followed regarding the question of whether conduct such as the use or threatened use of poison to injure another person involves sufficient "force" to constitute a crime of violence. Matter of Guzman-Polanco, 26 I&N Dec. 806 (BIA 2016)
CA7 Finds BIA Did Not Err in Declining to Reopen IJ’s Removal Order of Iraqi Petitioner
The court held that neither the BIA nor the IJ erred in determining that the BIA could, and did, order only a partial remand of petitioner’s case, and that petitioner had no constitutional right to procedural due process as to discretionary relief under INA §212(c). (Turkhan v. Lynch, 9/9/16)
CA8 Remands to Consider Whether Petitioner’s Burglary Conviction Is an Aggravated Felony
The court granted the government’s motion to remand to the BIA for consideration in the first instance of whether the petitioner’s prior conviction for second-degree burglary in Minnesota constitutes an aggravated felony under INA §101(a)(43)(G). (Xiong v. Lynch, 9/8/16)
BIA Says IJs Cannot Adjudicate Section 212(d)(3)(A)(ii) Waiver by Petitioner for U Status
The BIA held that IJs do not have authority to adjudicate a request for a waiver of inadmissibility under INA §212(d)(3)(A)(ii) by a petitioner for U nonimmigrant status. Matter of Khan, 26 I&N Dec. 797 (BIA 2016)
AILA Immigration Policy Update – “Catch and Release”
AILA issued an immigration policy update on “catch and release,” an unofficial term for the government practice that ended in 2006, where people apprehended at the border were released from detention while their cases were waiting to be heard before the immigration court.
CRS Report on Criminal Alien Programs
A Congressional Research Service report discusses DHS programs targeting criminal noncitizens, including the Criminal Alien Program, the Priority Enforcement Program, the §287(g) Program, and the National Fugitive Operations Program, as well as policy issues.
OIG Report: Potentially Ineligible Individuals Have Been Granted U.S. Citizenship Because of Incomplete Fingerprint Records
DHS’s Office of Inspector General released a report finding that USCIS granted U.S. citizenship to at least 858 individuals ordered deported or removed under another identity when, during the naturalization process, their digital fingerprint records were not available.
EOIR Notice on November 2016 Deadline for List of Pro Bono Legal Service Providers
EOIR reminder that 11/30/16 is the deadline to reapply for inclusion on the List of Pro Bono Legal Service Providers. EOIR automatically transferred all organizations that were on the former list and any organization that has not applied by the deadline will be removed in January 2017.
USCIS Accepts Ombudsman’s Recommendation to Adopt Parole Policy for U Visa Petitioners and Family Members
The CIS Ombudsman’s Office notified stakeholders that USCIS has agreed with the Ombudsman’s recommendation to implement a parole policy for U visa petitioners and qualifying family members who live abroad. USCIS will implement this policy when a new form and policy guidance are completed in FY2017.
CA1 Upholds Withholding of Removal Denial to Citizen of Guatemala
The court held that substantial evidence supported BIA’s findings that petitioner failed to establish that any harm he suffered or would likely suffer in the future was serious enough to constitute persecution and related to a statutorily protected ground. (Hernandez-Lima v. Lynch, 9/7/16)
BIA Reverses Denial of Continuance for Unaccompanied Minor Seeking Asylum
Unpublished BIA decision held that the IJ should have granted a continuance for the respondent, who was then an unaccompanied minor, to apply for asylum. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Rodas-Mazariegos, 9/7/16)
AG Lifts Stay and Remands Matter of Chairez and Matter of Sama
After referring the two BIA decisions to herself for review of an issue relating to Descamps v. United States, the Attorney General lifted the stay and remanded the two cases to the BIA for any appropriate action. Matter of Chairez and Matter of Sama, 26 I&N Dec. 796 (A.G. 2016)
DHS Notice: Privatized Immigration Detention Facilities Subcommittee
DHS notice that on 8/26/16, the Homeland Security Advisory Council (HSAC) was tasked with establishing a Privatized Immigration Detention Facilities Subcommittee. (81 FR 60713, 9/2/16)
BIA Says Oklahoma Conviction for “Resisting an Executive Officer” Is Not Categorically a CIMT
Unpublished BIA decision finds that the respondent’s 2012 Oklahoma conviction for “resisting an executive officer” was not a CIMT, and thus vacated the IJ’s decision finding that the respondent was not eligible for cancellation of removal under INA §240A(b)(1). Special thanks to David Sobel.
BIA Finds Oklahoma Resisting Arrest Statute Not a CIMT
Unpublished BIA decision holds that resisting an executive officer under Okla. Stat. Ann. Tit 21, §268 is not a CIMT as it does not require use of deadly weapon, actual or intended inflicted injury, or disregard of life or property of others. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of F-E-H-, 9/2/16)
CA9 Upholds Regulation Precluding an Individual Subject to a Reinstated Removal Order from Applying for Asylum
The court found that the Attorney General’s regulation at 8 CFR §1208.31(e), which prevents a noncitizen who is subject to a reinstated removal order from applying for asylum, was reasonable, and hence entitled to deference under Chevron. (Perez-Guzman v. Lynch, 8/31/16)
AILA: Trump Immigration Policy Unworkable and Inhumane
AILA expressed deep concern over Donald Trump’s immigration platform which “reflected a lack of understanding of immigration law, a disregard for fundamental rights of due process guaranteed by the Constitution, and a failure to appreciate the valuable contributions that immigrants make.”
Immigration Law Advisor, August 2016 (Vol. 10, No. 6)
The August 2016 Immigration Law Advisor, a legal publication from EOIR, includes an article on uncertainty regarding what constitutes “sexual abuse of a minor,” as well as summaries of circuit court decisions from August 2016 and BIA precedent decisions.
CA9 Finds It Lacks Jurisdiction to Review BIA’s Decision Following Remand to IJ for Voluntary Departure Advisals
The court held that it lacked jurisdiction to review the BIA’s decision following remand to an IJ for voluntary departure advisals, because petitioner did not file a petition for review within the 30-day period after the IJ’s decision as to the merits of his claims. (Singh v. Lynch, 9/1/16)
CA5 Finds Petitioner Did Not Meet INA §212(a)(9)(C)(ii)’s Exception to Inadmissibility
The court deferred to the BIA’s interpretation of INA §212(a)(9)(C)(ii) in Matter of Torres-Garcia, holding that petitioner did not met the section’s exception to inadmissibility, because he failed to remain outside the U.S. for ten years before returning. (Zermeno v. Lynch, 8/31/16)
CA7 Upholds Denial of Request for a Continuance to Adjustment of Status Applicant
The court held that BIA did not abuse its discretion in denying petitioner’s request for a continuance, which was made during the hearing he sought to be continued, and found that his entitlement to the relief he wanted to seek from USCIS was speculative at best. (Cadavedo v. Lynch, 8/31/16)